City officials vow to fight Cannon closure

CLOVIS - City and county officials have vowed to convince the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission to remove Cannon Air Force Base from the latest base closure list.

Clovis Mayor David Lansford said that various entities have pooled together about $900,000 for the fight.

"We have been in the process of getting prepared for Cannon being on the list. We've already planned and now it's time for execution," Lansford said.

The money comes from the city, the state of New Mexico, the private business community and other sources.

Officials believe that the U.S. Department of Defense erred in recommending Cannon Air Force Base's closure.

"There are published criteria that the commission will look at and (those) are military importance, opportunity for growth, some economic criteria ... the ability to realign those bases and encrouchment," said Curry County Manager Dick Smith.

"We believe by using their criteria that we will very successfully prove that their decision was wrong."

Smith and Lansford said that the area communities would survive and thrive if the base does close.

"It's a strong economy. Would it have an impact? It would be foolish to say that it doesn't have an impact," Smith said.